Inclining attachment for press



June 1958 R. E. WISSMAN I 2,837,992

INCLINING ATTACHMENT FOR PRESS Filed Jan. 6, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. REUBEN E. WISSMAN BY 5 7% ATTORNEYS FIG-8 52 IOO 98 94". 9B

2 June 10, 1958 R. E. -W|SSMAN INCLINING ATTACHMENT FOR PRES$ Filed Jan.6, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.- 3

2,837,992 INCLINING ATTACHMENT FOR PRESS Reuben E. Wissman, Minster,Ohio, assignor to The MinsterMachine Company, Minster, Ohio, 2corporation of Ohio 7 Application January 6, 1954, Serial No. 402,547

' 4 Claims. (Cl.100--231) This invention relates to presses, andparticularly to an inclining attachment for a press.

A great many metal working presses, particularly mechanical presses, arearranged so that they can be tilted for the purpose of facilitatingoperating, work therein. Heretofore, this has generally beenaccomplished by means of a vertical screw connected between the pressframe and, the leg structure of the press in about the center thereofand manually operated for tilting the press frame on the leg structure.A device of this nature is satisfactory for the purpose of tilting thepress frame, but has certain other disadvantages, namely, that itobstructs the back of the press, making it difficult to place tote boxesand the like behind the press for receiving operated workpieces, andalso requires considerable effort to adjust the press frame.

Having the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the presentinvention to provide an inclining attachmerit for tilting a press frameon the supporting leg structure therefor which will avoid the drawbacksreferred to above.

A particular object of this invention is the provision of an incliningattachment for tilting the press frame on the leg structure which willleave the back of the press unobstructed.

Another particular object is the provision of an incl inirig attachmentfor a press which is power operated, th'er'eb'y relieving the operatorof the work of manually operating the inclining attachment.

A still further object is the provision of an inclining tend to bind orbecome difficult t6 operate in any posi-' tion ofzadju'strnent of thepress frame. I I

- These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent uponreference to the following descrip-' tion taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in-fwhichz' V Figure 1 is a side elevational Viewof a' press having arr inclining-attachment according to the-presentinvention;

-Fi-gure 2 is a plan section throughthe press frame, indicated by line2-2. on Figure-'1;

Figure 3 isjaperspective' view'looki'ng in the direction of. the arrow 3in Figure 2-,, showing the inclining attach men tf lj the' pressaccording to this invention;

.Fi-gure 4 is another perspectiye'view looking in the direetion-of the,arrowl4 inl igu-re Z; I

1 EigureS' isa plan section, indicated byfline' 5'-5 on Figure 3,showing the slid'able nut in the press-leg forming a partoftheinclining, attachment;

rates Patent its Figure l position, the link 26 will move toward avertical position, thus tending to reduce the, possibility Figure 6 is avertical section at the upper end of the inclining screw showing themanner in which it is supported in the leg of the press;

Figure 7 is a plan section, indicated by line 7-7 on Figure 4, showingmore or less diagrammatically a ratchet mechanism forming a part of thedrive to the screw 7 of the inclining attachment; and

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic representation of the control circuit forcontrolling the operation of the drive motor for the incliningattachment.

Referring to the drawings more in detail, the press illustrated inFigure 1 comprises a press frame 10 pivotall'y connected by pivot pinsor bolts 12 with a base structure that comprises the spaced legs 14.Located within the press frame is a press slide 16 adapted for beingdriven through a suitable gear train by a drive motor 18.

The press frame 10 is tiltable about the pivot pins 12 by a mechanismconnected between one of the legs 14 and the back edge of one of theside members of the press frame. The inclining attachment is bestillustrated in Figure 3, wherein is will be seen that there is a bearingblock 20 fastened to the back edge of one side part of frame 10, as bythe cap screws 22. Preferably, the back edge of frame 10 is notched, asat 24, to receive block 20 to provide for good support of the block onthe press frame at all times. 7 V

The block 20 is pivotally connected with the upper end of a link 26 bypivot pin 28, while the lower end of link 26 is connected with a block30 located in leg 14.

The arrangement of block 30 in leg 14 and its connection with link 26will be seen in Figure 5, wherein it will be noted that leg 14 is formedwith a slot 32 on its inner side in which block 30 is fitted, with afiat gib 34 being provided that will retain block 30 in place.

Figure 5 will also show that block 36 comprises a trunnion portion 36extending through link 26 and with a plate 38 being secured to thetrunnion portion to retain the link in assembled relation therewith.

Block 30 has a threaded bore therein through which extends screw 40 thatruns vertically within slot 32, and which has its upper end supportinglyjournaled in a support block 42, as will be seen in Figure 6. Block 42has therein an anti-friction bearing 44, the outer race of which issupported by block 42, and the inner race of which closely surrounds theupper end of screw 49 and supports the said screw by means of collard-6abutting the inner race of the bearing and pinned to screw 46* by pin48. 4 k 7 At this point, it will be apparent that rotation of screw 40will cause movement of block 30 vertically along slot 32, and thiswillbring about tilting of press frame 10 relative to the supporting legsthereof because of its connection with nut 36 by link 26. It will alsobe apparent that, as the press frame tilts backwardly from for beingreceived in the apertures 52 in the sides of the press frame and theapertures 54 in an upstanding rib 56 on the legsof the press. new beunderstood, how-' ever, that the press could be tilted to positionsintermediate the said predetermined positions if so desired.

It will also be noted that the inclining attachment according to thepresent invention leaves the back of the press open, as will best beseen in Figure 2, so that tote boxes or lift trucks can readily be runinto the space between the legs at the back of the press, thus greatlyfacilitating the handling of workpieces from the press that have beendropped through the back after the workpieces have been operated upon bythe press.

According to the present invention it is contemplated to power operatescrew 40, and with this in mind I provide on the upper end of screw 40,as will be seen in Figure 7, a ratchet drive disk 60 adapted for beingdrivingly connected with drive arm 62 by means of one or the other ofthe directional pawls 64, 66, which are spring urged by spring 68 towardthe periphery of disk 60, and which can be made selectively effective bycam 70 adapted for being turned between its two operative positions byfinger lever 72. Detent mechanism 74 re tains cam 70 in its adjustedpositions. Drive arm 62 has its outer end slotted at 80 and connected byclevis 82 with the end of a ram 84 that extends into cylinder 86 of anair motor. The air motor is of a type'which will continuouslyreciprocate when energized by a supply of compressed air thereto. Thisis accomplished by providing the air motor with a reversing valve 88adapted for being shifted between its two operative positions by amechanism, generally indicated at 90, and which mechanism is controlledby a reciprocable rod 92 adapted for actuation by a member 94 carried onrod 96 that is connected with ram 84. V Springs 98 and the collars 100on rod 92 provide the means whereby reciprocation of rod 96 and member94 will bring about axial movement of rod 92 and therefore shifting ofvalve 88.

The control circuit is diagrammatically represented in Figure 8, whereinit will be seen that connected between power lines L1 and L2 and inseries with normally open push button 102 is a solenoid 104 for openinga normally closed shut-off valve 106 located in compressed air conduit108 leading to the inlet of reversing valve 88 for the air motor. Figure8 also indicates a detent mechanism at 110 for the shifting mechanism 90for the reversing valve which will insure that the reversing valvealways shifts completely to one of its operative positions when themechanism 90 is actuated.

It will be evident that the screw could be manually operated if desired,and that the advantage would still obtain that the back of the press wasleft open, while at the same time the actuation of the inclining screwwould be relatively easy and would not tend to bind in any position ofthe press frame. However, it is preferred that the screw be providedwith the ratchet drive and motor operator as disclosed for the purposeof making the adjustment of the press frame as easy as possible whilespeeding up this operation. While the air motor illustrated anddescribed is to be preferred for reasons of economy and the like, itwill be evident that other motor means could also be utilized, such asan electric motor, and the same advantages of rapid power operation ofthe inclining screw would be had.

While the inclining attachment has been illustrated as being an integralpart of the press structure, it will also be evident that the incliningattachment could be manufactured and sold as a separate article ofcommerce. This could be accomplished by constructing that portion of theleg of the press containing the slot 32 as a separate member andsecuring it to the inside of the press leg by bolts. The outline at 112in Figure illustrates how the slide for the block 30 could be bolted tothe press leg,

In this case, the block at'the upper end of screw 40 would preferably bemounted on the upper end of the slide member so that-the entire portionof the inclining attachment associated with the leg could be supplied asa single unit and secured to the press leg as a single integral unit.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modificationin order to adapt it to different usages and conditions, and,accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within thisinvention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an inclinable press, a press frame having side plates and beingpivotally mounted between a pair of spaced upright stationary supportinglegs, there being a vertical guide groove in the inner face adjacent therear edge of one of said supporting legs, a movable block having athreaded bore therethrough Within said groove and restrained againstlateral movement by the walls of said groove, a gib along one edge ofsaid vertical groove to retain said block within said groove, therebeing a recess in the rear edge of the side plate adjacent said one leg,a second block fixed within said recess, a link pivotally connectingsaid blocks, a screw within said guide groove and passing through saidthreaded bore of said movable block, means rotatably supporting theupper end of said screw, a reversible ratchet drive on the upper end ofsaid screw and having a drive arm extending therefrom, a reciprocatingmotor connected to said drive arm, means for reversing the direction oftravel of said motor to resultin continuous reciprocation thereof whensaid motor is energized, and means for controlling the energization ofsaid motor.

2. In an inclinable press, a press frame having side plates and beingpivotally mounted between a pair of spaced upright stationary supportinglegs, there being a vertical guide groove in the inner face adjacent therear edge of one of said legs, a movable block having a threaded boretherethrough within said groove and restrained against lateral movementby the walls of said groove, a screw within said groove passing throughsaid threaded bore, means rotatably supporting the upper end of saidscrew, a link pivotally connecting said movable block with the rear edgeof the side plate adjacent said grooved leg, a reversible ratchet driveon the upper end of said screw and having a drive arm extendingtherefrom, a reciprocating motor connected to said drive arm,

- means for reversing the direction of travel of said motor to result incontinuous reciprocation thereof when said motor is energized, and meansfor controlling the energization of said motor.

3. In an inclinable press, a press frame having side plates and beingpivotally mounted between a pair of spaced upright stationary supportinglegs, there being a vertical guide groove in the inner face adjacent therear edge of one of said legs, a movable block having a threaded boretherethrough within said guide groove and restrained against lateralmovement by the walls of said groove, a gib along one edge of saidvertical groove to retain said block within said groove, there being arecess in the rear edge of the press frame. side plate adjacent saidgrooved leg, asecond block fixed within said recess, a link pivotallyconnecting said blocks, a screw within said guide groove and passingthrough the threaded bore of said movable block, means rotatablysupporting the upper end of said screw, and means on said groovedsupporting .legandrconnected to said screw to selectively rotate saidscrew in either direction.

4-. In an inclinable press, a press frame having side plates and beingpivotally mounted between a pair of spaced upright stationary supportinglegs, there being a vertical. guide groove in the inner face adjacentthe rear edge of one of saidlegs, amovable block having a threadedbore-therethrough within said guide groove and restrained againstlateral movement by the walls'of said groove, there being a recess inthe real-edge of the press frame side plate adjacent said grooved leg, asecond block fixed within said recess, a link pivotally connecting saidmovable and fixed blocks, a screw within said guide groove andpassing'through said threaded bore of said movable block, meansrotatably supporting the upper end of said screw, a reversible ratchetdrive on the upper end of said screw and having a drive arm extendingtherefrom, a reciprocating motor connected to said drive arm, means forreversing the direction of travel of said motor to result in continuousreciprocation thereof when said motor is energized, and means forcontrolling the energization of said motor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSOsswald Sept. 13, Anderson Oct. 12, Alinder et al. Oct. 14, ByerleinJuly 11, Johansen et al Mar. 20, Johansen Oct. 30, Nowak 1 May 20,Patrick July 8,

